A meeting isn’t successful unless everyone does what they say they’ll do, and decisions are conveyed to others. Good meeting follow-up is the responsibility of the chair. This post gives nuts and bolts steps to take.

Controlling a meeting is key to meeting management. Start on time; assign a queue keeper; stick to the timed agenda; and end on time. Simple to say, not always simple to implement, but with practice, your 90 minute meetings, will end in…..90 minutes.

Good meetings require prep work beyond setting the date and time. Three key preparations for successful meetings are: Limiting the meeting focus to no more than 1-3 topics; Making sure that everyone has all the materials they’ll need in advance: Creating a timed agenda. This post covers why these are so important, and a sample timed agenda.

There are three reasons to hold a meeting: inform, discuss, or decide. Be clear on the meeting’s purpose, and make sure every participant knows that purpose. Otherwise, don’t meet. Here’s how to decide whether to meet.